Sunday, September 26, 2010

Baked Meets Fried

Like any good Southern girl, I certainly don't fear fried foods. But I'm a Libra so I'm all about the balance. I like to bake some things, but other foods just require fryin'. My meal tonight was a perfect example of the yin and yang of baked versus fried foods. My protein were these Cornmeal Crusted Tofu Stix:

These baked, "chicken" strip-like finger foods are going in my cookbook. They would also be tasty fried, but I haven't tried 'em that way and see no reason to change up the recipe. They get super-crispy in the oven, and they're perfect for dippin' in ketchup, barbecue sauce, or maple-Dijon sauce.

I balanced out the baked main dish with these Fried Cucumbers:

I know, you're probably thinking, "fried cucumbers?! What?!" I thought the same thing when I first heard about this Southern delicacy a couple years ago. I certainly didn't grow up eating cooked cucumbers, but my old next-door neighbor Wes did. He challenged me to try them, so I whipped up a batter seasoned with dried dill and some other stuff. I pan-fried them in a little hot oil, and OMG, they were amazing. These are definitely going in my cookbook.

They taste a lot like fried pickles, but they retain some of that cucumber crunch. They're really tasty dipped in my homemade Vegan Country Buttermilk Ranch (also going in the cookbook).

My other veggie side wasn't fried, but a lot of Southern folks call it fried. I call it Not Really Fried Corn:

My mama calls this dish fried corn, but it's actually boiled with soymilk and flour and cooked down until the liquid is absorbed and the corn is super-creamy. Once absorbed, the flour in the corn cooks to the pan a bit, leaving little sorta-fried brown bits behind. You can see one poking out in the picture. The little brown bits are the best.

So there you have it — baked meets fried. Now a question for y'all: How do you feel about frying? Do you reserve fried foods for special occasions or eat them whenever you please? Or do you shun fried foods completely?

26 comments:

That all looks delicious! I used to eat fried food with abandon back in the day, but eventually decided to cut back after I and my doctor realized that greasy food was at least partially behind some painful health problems I experienced at the time. Despite all of that, I don't shun fried food completely; I just eat it rather infrequently.

I rarely eat fried food. If a recipe calls for fry, I usually try to find a way to bake it instead. Fried food is just too greasy for me but I will admit that I do love fried food. It's just for health reasons that I choose not to eat it.

Fried cucumbers?! That does sound intriguing. I don't eat fried food that much because I haven't mastered the art of not burning things to a crisp, but in general I will try it if I have a good explicit recipe to work from. (Like, exactly how much oil, and how long should I wait before I put in the food?)

I have never heard of fried cucumbers. It doesn't sound too bad though. As I have told you before, I am still wary of fried food. I really need to get over it already. Maybe when your cookbook comes out I will finally have an excuse to fry something.

All that looks so good - especially the corn. I love fried corn made the same way, and fried squash. But when it comes to deep fried foods, I save those for treats when eating out. It's not really about being too healthy for them. Maybe I'm lazy, but it saves me the mess of cleaning up. I usually make eggplant parm once or twice a year with fried eggplant, though.

The water in the cucumbers didn't cause oil popping? if not..count me in. I love fried foods; even if I can't eat very much fried deliciousness without getting sick.Also-Libra's rock. My hubby is one as well.

that's one helluva awesome plate o' yummminess, Bianca! dan and i started using brown rice flour with cormeal on our oven-fried tofu when i went gluten-free, it's sooo super yum! i can't wait to try out your recipe - your 'fu looks absolutely perfect! fried cucs sound delightful as well, and i'm all about that colorful not really fried corn. mmmmmmm! we don't fry in our home (i'm too clumsy in the kitchen), but occasionally we'll have french fries and such when out. fried foods are just so delicious!

Fried cucumbers is unusual to me, as in this is the first time I've heard of it *wink* though I like the idea. And oh by the way, for your fried tofu, you might as well want to try vinegar with cucumber for your sauce/dip.